As its hero product, Chicmax’s facial mask topped the ranking of the category inChicmax also ranked first in the domestic maternity and childcare skin care category, with retail sales of 1.79 billion renminbi, or $256 million, in 2021, according to Frost & Sullivan.
Chicmax initially planned for a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2021 but shifted its focus to the Hong Kong exhange later in the year. According to Chicmax Cosmetics’ prospectus, due to COVID-19-related disruptions, revenue dropped 31 percent year-over-year to 1.26 billion renminbi, or $180 million, in the six months ending June 30, 2022. Gross profit plunged almost 33 percent year-over-year to 0.8 billion renminbi, or $114 million, in the same period.
In recent years, Chicmax has been reinventing its star brands to keep up with market trends and stay in a highly fragmented market dominated by global players, according to Frost & Sullivan’s report. For example, Kans edged into the high-end anti-aging market with a self-developed blue copper peptide technology and One Leaf was rebranded into a cleanIn 2016, Chicmax set up a research facility in Kobe, Japan and has spent almost 100 million renminbi annually on research and development. New brands that made their debut this year, such as New Page and Armiyo, are aimed at tackling the sensitive skin market sector. In 2023, a high-end anti-aging brand, Yamii Pro, will make its market debut.